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wednesday, December 11, 2013 | guyanatimeSGY.com
Mandela was the beacon of justice, EU, British fair play – Burnham Foundation ambassadors hail
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he Burnham Foundation has expressed its condolences to the family and friends of peace icon, former South African president and African National Congress (ANC) leader Nelson Mandela. Nelson Mandela was the African leader, who by his ideas and actions has put death to many of the myths perpetuated about African leaders, the foundation said in a release. It noted that Mandela’s ability to reconcile, having been persecuted by the apartheid regime; his decision to retire from public life when his power was not challenged or in question; and his management and fostering of a democratic and transparent society have made humanity and Africans in particular, where ever they are proud and provides the governance paradigm to which all can aspire. The foundation said the
The late Nelson Mandela
respect Mandela has gained internationally is in large measure due to his courage, clarity of vision, ability to adopt without being opportunist, uncompromising when necessary, concern for the poor, the promotion of a South Africa in which all people are treated as equal and enjoy equality of opportunity and his statesman like leadership when he pro-
gressed from political prisoner to president. “It is these qualities that caused him to emerge as the moral compass of the world and the beacon of justice and fair play. “Guyana has always held Nelson Mandela and the African liberation struggle in high regard. It is this respect and belief in the just cause of Mandela and the people of Southern Africa that caused the PNC-led government, and the people of Guyana under the leadership of Linden Forbes Sampson Burnham to unequivocally support the struggles of the peoples of Southern Africa for liberation.” Guyana’s organisation of a signature campaign demanding the release of Nelson Mandela from prison, its granting of financial and other forms of support to the liberation struggle in Southern Africa, the hosting of conferences in solidarity with the people of Southern Africa, its active advocacy
and support for the people of Southern Africa in numerous international fora and the critical role it played in permitting Cuban planes to refuel on their way to Angola to be part of the critical battle of Cuito Cunavalle, where that changed the tide in favour of the liberation forces in Southern Africa, are clear illustrations of this country’s support for the peoples of Southern Africa, the foundation said. “It is against the backdrop of the foregoing that the Burnham Foundation joins Mandel’s family, the ANC, the government and people of South Africa in mourning the loss of this great human being. His passing creates a lacuna that will be very difficult to fill. The physical being of Nelson Mandela will be no more. His vision for a just South Africa lives and serves as the light to guide all humanity on to the path of peace, love, justice and prosperity,” the foundation said.
NAPS honours stalwarts in the fight against AIDS
Awardees from left, back row: Dereck Springer, Sean Wilson and Nazim Hussain. In front row, from left: Shirley Inniss, Desiree Edghill, Eulanie Torrezao, Annette Jaundoo, and Edris George
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he National AIDS Programme Secretariat (NAPS) on Friday honoured several individuals and organisations who dedicated their energies for a number of years to impact the fight against HIV/ AIDS. The appreciation ceremony was held at the Cara Lodge Hotel, Quamina Street, Georgetown Globally, World AIDS Day was observed recently on December 1 and marked 26 years since the first AIDS case was discovered in Guyana, in 1987. This period also marked 21 years since the establishment of NAPS. For over two decades, the NAPS has been working in unison with its partners, inter-sectoral ministries, non-governmental organisations, the private sector and other key stakeholders to prevent new infections and ensure universal access to treatment and care services.
NAPS Programme Manager, Dr Shanti Singh said Guyana is turning the tide against the HIV epidemic with fewer babies being born with HIV, less HIV infections and people living with HIV are living longer and healthier lives. Dr Singh affirmed that Guyana is well poised to declare the Elimination of Mother to Child Transmission.
Fewer deaths
Currently, more than 81 per cent of persons living with HIV are reporting a 12month survival and AIDSrelated deaths have decreased from almost 10 per cent in 2002 to less than four per cent in 2010, Dr Singh pointed out. Importantly, a regional release from the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) ranked Guyana as one of the seven countries to have achieved universal access to
HIV treatment with coverage of 93 per cent. This places Guyana only two places behind Barbados and Cuba with 95 per cent coverage. Chief Medical Officer, Dr Shamdeo Persaud, who delivered remarks on behalf of the Health Minister, emphasised the importance of the HIV response as demonstrated with the inclusion of HIV/AIDS as a health priority in Health Vision 20/20 Strategy. It is only fitting therefore, that the NAPS recognise individuals and organisations that have been serving relentlessly over the many years and contributed to the successes of the Guyana HIV/AIDS response. Those receiving longstanding service awards were United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Programme Manager Edris George; Pan Caribbean Partnership against HIV and AIDS (PANCAP)
Coordinating Unit Director Dereck Springer; Artistes in Direct Support Executive Director Desiree Edghill; International Labour Organisation (ILO) Programme Officer Sean Wilson; and NAPS Community Mobilisation Coordinator Nazim Hussain. Each individual served in HIV/AIDS for over a decade, some reaching over two decades. Three NGOs were awarded for making the greatest impact in reaching the key populations of men who have sex with men and female commercial sex workers. There were Artistes in Direct Support; United Bricklayers; New Amsterdam Berbice and Family, Awareness, Consciousness, Togetherness (FACT) of Springlands, Berbice.
Minute of silence
The secretariat also took time out to have a minute of silence in memory of the late South African leader Nelson Mandela, who died on Thursday at age of 95. AIDS in Africa has claimed more lives than the sum of all wars, famines and floods. Dr Singh reminded the gathering of one of Mandela’s famous speeches in 2004 where he called on the global community to act. She quoted him as saying, “the more we lack the courage and the will to act, the more we condemn to death our brothers and sisters, our children and our grandchildren. When the history of our times is written, will we be remembered as the generation that turned our backs in a moment of a global crisis or will it be recorded that we did the right thing?”
Mandela as human rights champion
British High Commissioner Andrew Ayre
EU Ambassador Robert Kopecký
uropean Union (EU) Ambassador Robert Kopecký and British High Commissioner Andrew Ayre have hailed late South African President Nelson Mandela as a great defender of human rights. The diplomats, in an oped to mark Human Rights Day on Tuesday, said Mandela’s devotion to freedom and democracy, his forgiveness towards his former enemies, and his momentous achievements in bringing peace and reconciliation to his country made him an inspiration throughout the world. In observance of the occasion, the EU high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, Catherine Ashton, issued a declaration on the EU’s strong commitment to promoting the protection of human rights.
of inspiration for the EU, which has human rights among its founding principles. Tuesday also marks the creation of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights 20 years ago.
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Core values The diplomats said, “Human rights are one of the core values of the European Union and its member states, and are considered to be the ‘silver thread’ which runs through all our policies. Indeed, the European Union was awarded the 2012 Nobel Peace Prize for its work on advancing human rights, peace, and reconciliation. The EU sees human rights as universal and indivisible and it actively promotes and defends them both within its borders and when engaging in relations with non-EU countries. The EU will continue to offer unwavering support for human rights and democracy and those who defend them, both in Guyana and in the wider world.” 2013 marks the 20th anniversary of the 1993 World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna. The Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action confirmed the universality of all human rights and led to historic advances in their promotion and protection. It continues to be a source
Action plan The ambassadors said one year ago, the EU adopted its Strategic Framework and Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy and appointed our first special representative for human rights. “Since then, we have focused on ensuring that human rights and democracy are mainstreamed throughout the EU’s external action. We have adopted new EU guidelines on freedom of religion or belief and on the enjoyment of human rights by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) persons. We have continued our long-standing campaign to ban capital punishment throughout the world.” In Guyana the EU, together with the UK and non-resident member states, works closely with civil society in promoting human rights through programmes such as the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights and the Non State Actors programmes, where funding in excess of one million euro is being granted for human rights-related projects. “Furthermore, funding for human rights will continue in the EU programming period 20142020. We have been proud to have cooperated with Guyanese organisations such as the Guyana Human Rights Association, Justice Institute, Help and Shelter, Childlink, SASOD, AGAPE and others. The EU is also cooperating closely with the government of Guyana in the promotion and protection of human rights, and it is an issue which features prominently in our political relations,” the ambassadors noted.